Joseph N. Welch (person)

Was special counsel for the army in the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings during the height of McCarthyism. In response to an an attack by Senator Joseph McCarthy on a young associate in Welch's law firm, Mr Welch responded with the following:

"Until this moment Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or recklessness......Have you no decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

This seemed to turn the tables on McCarthy and the hearings ended inconcusively. McCarthy was then condemned by his peers in the Senate and his public support eroded. He died in May 1957 of health problems brought on by alcoholism.